


Leaf it to me

by That_is_right



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Living Together, M/M, Minor Gueira/Meis (Promare), Plants, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:22:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23601505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_is_right/pseuds/That_is_right
Summary: Galo can't help but notice that Lio seems to be missing something. No matter what he tries, Galo can't seem to figure out what that might be.
Relationships: Gueira/Meis (Promare), Lio Fotia & Gueira & Meis, Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 18
Kudos: 144





	Leaf it to me

**Author's Note:**

> Galo is an idiot, but he is a sweetheart and he cares about the people around him, AND HE LOVES LIO. 
> 
> And I am not sorry about that title, not in the slightest.

Lio is, surprisingly, happier once the Promare are gone. Galo had expected him to be upset, and Lio says that he is, sometimes. But Lio says that now, there’s nothing to make him ‘other’. He’s just a regular human, and there’s no reason for anyone to fear or hate him anymore. Of course, it still takes some people a while to warm up to the ex-Burnish, but things are definitely better now. 

Lio gets cold a lot, but he has Galo around to keep him warm. Gueira and Meis are around all the time too, since they managed to get an apartment in the same building as Galo’s. Lio ends up slowly becoming a member of Burning Rescue without even noticing. Gueira and Meis help out from time to time, but they spend most of their time working on their newly opened bar. 

Galo and Lio live together now, and Galo couldn’t be happier.

But sometimes, Galo notices Lio standing around as though looking for something else to do. Lio works full-time with Burning Rescue, and is practically a part-time employee for Meis and Gueira. He’s running himself ragged, and yet he still seems restless. It gets worse as the months pass, and Galo tries everything he can think of to help him. 

Galo tries sating Lio with sex. They’d already been having sex a couple of times a week, but Galo wonders if maybe that isn’t enough for his little spitfire. Lio certainly enjoys the more frequent sex, and Galo definitely enjoys it, but it doesn’t solve Lio’s restlessness. All it does is make them both tired. And it means Galo can't go around shirtless as much as he usually would. Lio likes to bite. And scratch. Galo _loves_ it. 

Galo tries inviting Gueira and Meis over for dinner more frequently. Galo wonders if Lio misses having his friends around. All that does is increase the number of times Galo wakes up somewhere in the apartment he really shouldn’t have slept (like under a table, or on one memorable occasion, curled up in the bottom of the shower with Gueira), usually also with a pounding headache. 

Galo tries encouraging Lio to take up new hobbies with him. Together, they try yoga, painting, knitting, photography, and even just lying around reading. All it does is fill their apartment with junk like discarded yoga mats and expensive cameras that aren’t really that much better than the cameras on their phones.

Galo tries any and every idea that comes into his head. Lio is happy, but it still looks like he’s missing something, and that breaks Galo’s heart.

But, after a few more weeks of worry, a solution arrives in a form that Galo hadn’t even considered.

“Boss, Meis and I are going to be away for a couple of weeks. We’re taking the bikes and we’re going sightseeing.” Gueira says one night at dinner. Despite Lio's continued insistence that they don't need to call him boss anymore, they keep doing it. To be fair, Galo likes calling Lio boss, too. But that usually happens when they're in bed. 

“Do you need me to manage the bar while you're gone?” Lio asks.

“Nah, the rest of the crew can cover for us. Actually, I was going to ask if you could water the plants in our apartment.”

“Oh, right. Yeah, I can do that.”

“I’ll leave instructions for you, so there’s no way you’ll fuck it up,” Meis says.

“Hey, why am I being excluded from plant duty? I could help Lio!” Galo protests.

The three ex-Burnish hit him with identical looks of disbelief. “Galo, you barely remember to water yourself. When was the last time you had something to drink today?” Lio asks.

Galo racks his brain. “Uh. Well. Yeah, okay, fine. I’d kill all your plants if Lio wasn’t here. You can stop looking at me like that now.”

* * *

“I’m just going to go check on Meis and Gueira’s plants before we head out,” Lio says, grabbing the spare set of keys from the bowl by the door.

“Sweet! Sounds good.”

It’s half an hour later when Galo realises that Lio isn’t back yet. He grabs Lio’s things and locks their apartment behind him. He can just grab Lio on the way out. Galo makes his way down the corridor, and finds Meis and Gueira’s apartment unlocked.

“Lio?” Galo calls, letting himself in.

Lio is sitting on the windowsill, gently combing through the delicate leaves of one of the plants.

“Galo look! Aren’t the fronds on this one gorgeous!” Lio says, smiling widely.

“They’re so small. I didn’t know leaves could be that small!” Galo says as he comes in for a closer look.

“They left names for everything, so I looked it up. It’s a maidenhair fern, it makes spores on the undersides of the leaves, and that’s how it reproduces!” Lio gently folds over a frond to show him.

“Spores? I thought only mushrooms have those.”

“Ferns make spores too, apparently. Cool, right?” Lio says.

“Yeah, that’s actually really neat," Galo says. He watches Lio for a moment. Galo hasn't seen Lio look this relaxed in ages. "Anyway, I hate to interrupt, but we have to head out now, or we’re going to be late again.”

“Right. Do you have my jacket?” Lio asks, and Galo is already handing it over.

* * *

Once they finish work for the day, they spend a couple of hours curled together on the sofa before Lio goes back to check on the plants. Galo didn’t think they’d need watering twice a day, but then he could barely nourish himself properly. What did he know?

Nearly an hour later Lio still hasn’t come back. Galo wants him to help with dinner, so he goes to find him again. Like that morning, Meis and Gueira's apartment is unlocked, and Galo lets himself in to find Lio still messing around with the plants.

“Is everything okay?” Galo asks.

Lio looks up from where he’s poking at what Galo thinks is a cactus. “Sorry, I keep getting caught up. Yeah, everything is fine.”

“You having fun?” Galo asks, pulling up a chair beside him.

“Actually, yeah, I am. It’s nice being around this much greenery. I really like it, I don’t know why.”

“It’s relaxing in here. That could also be because it’s a lot quieter without the three of you together.” Galo teases.

“Hey, we’re not that rowdy,” Lio protests, then he snorts. “Okay, we might be a bit noisy. Sometimes. When there’s alcohol involved.”

Galo laughs. “I remember the first time you guys had your first hangovers. Who knew the Promare would keep you safe from those all these years?”

Lio groans. “My god, do _not_ remind me. I thought I was dying.”

“It’ll keep getting worse as you get older, too.”

Lio groans even louder.

* * *

Lio keeps spending a couple of hours a day with Meis and Gueira’s houseplants. Galo leaves him to it (ha, leaves), especially after he starts noticing that Lio doesn’t seem quite so restless anymore. It’s as though Lio has found purpose looking after the houseplants, and he’s so much more relaxed in their downtime. 

Of course, Meis and Gueira come back eventually. Lio doesn’t say anything, but after a couple of days without having to care for the houseplants, he goes back to being just as restless as he was before.

Galo sneaks out one afternoon to do some shopping. He comes home with a couple of ferns, a cactus, and a spider plant. Galo had been reluctant about that last one, until a shop assistant had informed him that, no, it would not attract spiders into the apartment. It was just a name. Once he learnt that, he ended up getting a snake plant too.

“Tadaa!” Galo announces proudly when he returns. He spreads the plants out on the dining table, and Lio comes to investigate. 

“What’s all this?” Lio asks.

“I bought you some of your own plants! Well, technically I bought them for the apartment, but I won’t remember to look after them, so they’re really for you. If you don’t like any of them, we can just give them to Gueira and Meis.”

“No!” Lio says quickly. He drops down onto one of the chairs and smiles at the greenery in front of him. “I love them.”

Galo falls in love with the way that Lio smiles at his plants.

* * *

Lio acquires plants faster than Galo can keep track of them. Which is totally fine with him, since Lio is very happy to look after all of them. Galo watches as Lio’s uneasy restlessness vanishes, and a bright and vibrant man emerges.

Soon, every room in the apartment is full of plants, and it feels like nearly every surface is covered in them. Lio spends at least an hour every day tending to his plants, and Galo loves following along after him, learning about what Lio does to look after them. Galo doesn’t remember any of it, but he loves seeing the way that Lio brightens up at the sight of a new leaf, or how proud he is when he shows off his favourites. Not that Lio would ever admit that he has favourites (he totally does). 

Lio, just like their apartment, is happy and full of life.

And that makes Galo just as happy. 

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot get the thought of Galo going to a plant store, looking at a spider plant and going "why the fuck would anyone want a plant that attracts spiders". Then, someone has to explain that that spider plants don't actually attract spiders, and Galo just has this moment of "oh okay, let me go grab that snake plant then, too" and this person is just watching this giant idiot like "how the fuck did he save the city". 
> 
> This whole thing basically me projecting my love for plants onto Lio. I'd like to think that he's the type of person that likes looking after things. I feel like it would be weird for him to go from being the protector of the Burnish to just some random guy. Buy some plants to fill the void and give your life purpose! It's what everyone else is doing! 
> 
> As I am writing this, my own spider plant is getting in the way and just being a general nuisance. I love my plants.
> 
> Anyway, come hang [on Twitter!](https://twitter.com/that_is_yeet)


End file.
